Whether you are a novice or an expert, your genealogy start-story is one to be proud of and to share. As the newest librarian on the ACPL Genealogy Center staff, I would like to introduce myself by sharing my own start-story.

Like many youngsters, I often went to pay my respects at the cemetery with my family. Perhaps unlike most people, my maternal grandmother would take me for hours just to wander the local cemetery in Plymouth, Indiana, the town where my mother was raised. She wanted to show me the names, dates, and symbols. While she had no interest in genealogy, she instilled a love of cemeteries in me at a very young age. They are places to love, respect, learn, and be at peace. While death is never a happy subject, having the ability to retain a connection with deceased friends and family is a good thing. My parents were not as enthralled with cemeteries as my grandmother and I, but they would go and clean out the family plot in the Catholic Cemetery of Fort Wayne and put fresh silk flowers out every season.

At age sixteen and I went to the cemetery with my parents and other relatives to perform the annual change of the silk flowers. Since there were more than enough people helping with the family plot, I began to wander through the section to look at the different stones. I was astonished when I discovered a grave stone with my father’s name on it! My father, Edward, was named after his grandfather, Edward. My father is alive and well while his grandfather had been buried since 1955. I had no idea who the third Edward could have been. After my initial shock, I realized that the dates were off. This Edward was only 9 years old when he passed away! He was also born almost twenty years after my great-grandfather. Something did not add up.

I went back to the family plot and asked my family members if they knew anything about it. They were all surprised and went back to the grave to see for themselves. None of them had any idea who the child was and how he was related to our family. That was the day I became a novice genealogist. I wanted to know everything about this child and why he wasn’t in our family plot if he was a relative. Unfortunately, my paternal grandparents were deceased by this time. I could not ask them any questions. I had to turn to the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center for help.

I still remember walking into the library and being overwhelmed. I had no idea where to start. Luckily for me, there was a librarian at the desk who was willing to assist me in my beginning search. The interesting thing was that I did not want to start with me, which is the recommended way to begin genealogy. I was bound and determined to figure out who the child with my father’s name was and how he was related to us. Thankfully, the librarian helped me find information on the child’s death. This led me to his parents’ names. The grand mystery was solved. The third Edward was the nephew of my great-grandfather with the same name. His brother honored him by naming his son after him. It was easy to link the brother to my family since he died the same year as the child and is buried in our family plot. It was also interesting to discover that the child was buried next to his mother who died long after the child. In fact, she remarried and had a long life before finally settling next to her little boy.

While I was able to solve the family mystery, it opened up a door of many more mysteries. Why did my great-grandfather’s brother die so young? Who were these family members? What did they do? What other family members can I find? The simple family mystery in a cemetery many years ago has led me to spending over half of my life doing genealogy research. I was hooked!

What is your genealogy start-story? Have you shared it with your family? Sometimes learning about the family mysteries and skeletons in the closet are the best ways to pique someone’s interest in learning more about genealogy. I look forward to working with all of you!

We invite you to capture a day in Allen County, Indiana! On Sunday, February 14, 2016, take pictures of anything and everything that is happening in our county in that twenty-four hour time period, and send them to us! What is your view of Allen County that day? These pictures are not limited to marquee events. We want to capture what is going on throughout the entire community, so pictures can be of people at work, children at play, sporting events, weather and blooming flowers, homes and buildings, traffic scenes, hikers and bikers, and people just hanging out. Include a description you would like put with the picture. for more information, see the brochure.

A number of obituary and other point of death records have been added to our Free Databases recently.

One of our most popular databases is our Fort Wayne and Allen County Area Obituary Index, and local volunteer John Lawrence has filled in a number of gaps in that database by reviewing 19th and early 20th century newspapers and adding a total of 18,951 obituaries recently! One may search the database by first or last name (exact, Soundex and fuzzy search) or by date.

The Daviess County, Indiana Obituary Index has 2013 and 2014 entries added by Kay Hedrick, bringing the run from 1984 to 2014. This index also includes many entries from Martin, Pike and Knox Counties, as well as Daviess.

And the Genealogy Tracers African American Homegoing Programs continue to expand, now containing 4048 memorials with 19, 761 images, thanks to the Genealogy Tracers of Cleveland, Ohio, whose members are Alfreda Spratlen Barnes, Clancy Ware-Simpson, David Simpson, Carmine Vaughn Stewart.

Thanks to everyone for their time and effort! These databases would not exist without them!

Cynthia Theusch will present January’s entry in the WinterTech series with “Technology Tour of The Genealogy Center,” on Wednesday, January 13, 2016, 2:30–3:30 p.m., in Meeting Rooms B&C. Cynthia will demonstrate all the technology available for our customers to use including scanners, printers and more! Remember that WinterTech is offered in the afternoons of the Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana’s monthly meeting, so stay until 7 p.m. to hear ACGSI members “Sharing Unique Finds during Genealogical Research.” To register for any of these free events, call 260-421-1225 or send us an email.

We have a fabulous “new” map for your viewing pleasure on our free Allen County, Indiana Resources page. It is a 1935 Business Loop map of downtown Fort Wayne, bordered by Brackenridge on the south, Webster on the west, Columbia and the railroad on the north and Barr on the east. From the whole map which serves as an overview, one may click on sections to see enlargements, to view the locations of theaters, churches, stores and residences all over downtown. Most businesses are specified, such as Patterson Fletcher, Stag Cigar, Bon Ton Bakery, Kroger Market, Baltes hotel and more, although some are just identified as barber or filling station. Buildings are identified by street number and trolley tracks are shown, as is Transfer Corner at Calhoun and Berry. At the top is a statistical summary of the types of businesses, including 18 shoe stores, 40 clothing stores, 22 barbers, 10 hotels, 12 markets, and 9 beer parlors. Residences are not identified by name. The map can be a bit confusing at first, as west is at the top, and a strong knowledge of the streets of Fort Wayne’s downtown or a current map may serve as an aid to browsing.

People are already sending photos for the Who’s a Hoosier? Who and What Makes Indiana Great Bicentennial Image Collection. This one comes from Kevin Roe of Fort Wayne. Kevin has lived most of his life in Fort Wayne. Some of us here in The Genealogy Center knew him as an Allen County Public Library Page-turned Clerk-turned Librarian in the 1970s and 1980s as he worked his way through college and graduate school, then began his career. He’s now with Fort Wayne Community Schools, but keeps in touch with us. Kevin is sending a number of family and group photos, but this one shows Kevin (a great Hoosier) with Santa in 1963, when Kevin was 3½ years old.

This Santa is Phil Steigerwald, the famous Wolf & Dessauer Santa Claus. Born in 1927 to Phil E. and Vera Hurst Steigerwald, Phil began his Santa career in 1943, when he was still in high school. In the mid-1950s, his service became a profession at the Sears Store on Rudisill. He became Wolf & Dessauer’s Santa several years later and remained there until W&D closed in 1979. Along the way, he was a realtor and a Fort Wayne City Council member from 1963 to 1971. Phil died in 2004, but his legacy lives with the many children who still treasure their pictures with Santa.

It is a wonder how one person's contributions to our Free Databases can expand research possibilities! The following material has all been donated for your use here by one generous researcher.

The Four Mile Church was the first Church of the Brethren (German Baptist) in Indiana. It was 1809 and the area was known as “The Gore.” The Upper Four Mile Church was in Wayne County, and the Lower Four Mile Church was in Franklin County, but when Union County was formed in 1821, both churches were in that county. Four Mile Church, 200th Anniversary discusses the history of the church with brief family histories of members, along with many photos, and a map showing the locations of early Brethren Churches in Indiana.

The Frontier Brethren provides a study of the early migration of the Brethren to Kentucky and the Ohio River Valley. It contains historical and biographical material, as well as a map of Brethren churches in Kentucky, and southern Indiana and Ohio.

All of these were generously provided by Merle Rummel and all can be searched using the search feature on each home page.

The last item, also provided by Mr. Rummel, is Brethren Migration Roads, a PowerPoint file that is not searchable, but contain 264 images that include maps and photographs of the trails as they exist now and images of what might have existed when our ancestors traversed these routes. Whether your ancestors were Brethren or not, this final selection is a wonderful resource.

Alexander Morris was born in New York in 1889 and, after his parents died, he and his siblings were placed in an orphan asylum. When it closed, he transferred to a Catholic Reform School, then later, to a better orphan home where he studied music for the first time. He joined the Navy in 1907 and served for the next 47 years until retirement, then died in 1962. His career in the Navy was as a musician and bandmaster. His Peacetime & Multiple Engagements details his career through the first half of the Twentieth Century and is a fascinating read about a young man who worked hard and achieved success.

The last item is the Butler-McDonald-Mazanec Photograph Collection. All of the information we have is the three family names associated with it, and the few notes attached to the photos. It is like looking though a family scrapbook, with formal portraits and snapshots, postcards of locations important to the family, photographs of gravestones and Christmas cards. Take a stroll through the pictures and enjoy!

Have you been wondering what's happened to PERSI? Do you wonder what PERSI is, and how to use it? Join Melissa Tennant at 2:30 p.m., on Wednesday, December 9, 2015 in Meeting Room B&C, as she discusses where one can find PERSI, the differences between the sites, how to get copies of articles cited in the periodical index, and the dramatic things that are happening with PERSI at FindMyPast. To register for this free program, call 260-421-1225 or send an email.

And stay until 7 p.m. for the monthly meeting of the Allen County Genealogical Society of Indiana for Marge Graham's presentation "Wills and Probate Records," in Meeting Room A.

On the 150th anniversary of the thirteenth amendment's ratification by the states, Professor Brian Dirck of Anderson University will discuss the amendment and Lincoln's role in its success. This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Allen County Public Library. Join us Sunday, December 6, 2015, at 2:00 p.m., in Meeting Room A for this free event. For more information, visit The Lincoln Collection.

Finally, we have a Lutheran Bible Institute, Minneapolis photo, dated February 11, 1941. The photograph is scanned in such a way that you can click on a section to view the attendees more closely. We have no names associated with the photo, so if you recognize anyone, please let us know.

The great American holiday of Thanksgiving is nearly upon us. It is a time traditionally when families gather together to share a feast, give thanks for their bounty, and watch football. It is also one of the few times of the year that multiple generations of a family assemble under one roof. It is thus a great time for sharing family stories, looking at photographs, and remembering the past.

This year, why not participate in the Great Thanksgiving Listen, taking place from November 26 to November 29? The sponsor of this event is StoryCorps, a nationally-known oral history project whose mission is to capture the stories of thousands of people across our country. You may have heard excerpts of StoryCorps sessions on National Public Radio. They have made it easy by providing an app that is easily downloaded to a cell phone. This is a convenient way to record the stories of family members and preserve them forever.

Everyone has a story tell, whether it is a family tradition, a childhood memory, a military service experience, or a recollection about a particular place or event. What is the earliest memory that you can recall? Where were you when you heard about President Kennedy's assassination? Did you watch the Apollo 11 moon landing on television in 1969? Where were you on 9/11? What stories have you heard about your family's history?

Let's pause a moment from our feasting this week and take time to remember and record. You'll be glad you did.

This past summer, The Genealogy Center acquired two new microfilm and microfiche reader/scanner/printer machines. With their new technological features and updated scanning software, you will definitely want to make use of these machines during your next visit.

Merge 2 or more images together which is a great feature to use when your article has been divided into 2 or more pages.

Digitizing your film negatives and slides.

Black and white

Color negatives

The new Microtext Machines are a great way to capture images from microfilm, microfiche, negatives and slides; and add them to your group of displayed photos or in your family history files and stories.

Have a brick wall in your research? Would you like a greater understanding of some aspect of your research? The Genealogy Center is offering 30-minute personal research consultations with a staff member on some troublesome aspect of your research. The Consultations will be offered on Wednesday, December 2nd and Tuesday, December 8th, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Call 260-421-1225 or email Genealogy@ACPL.Info for an appointment, requesting a Consultation and providing basic information concerning the nature of your quandary. A staff member will be assigned and a time established for your consultation. Be sure to bring your research notes to your consultation.

As you visit The Genealogy Center in the coming weeks, you may notice a bit of unusual activity, especially in the Microtext Reading Room. When we reopened our expanded and renovated building in 2007, we had a large space devoted to using our extensive microtext collection—a collection that included census and military records, newspapers, city directories, and documents from many states and countries. However, digital copies of these important documents continue to grow exponentially in use. Microtext usage, on the other hand, continues to diminish greatly.

What has grown in the last decade is our dedication to expand service to include more classes and consultations, as well as meeting our customers’ desires to collaborate with us and one another. In response, we are repurposing more than half of the former Microtext Reading Room into our new Discovery Center, a space for presentations, panel discussions, group activities, pop-up demonstrations, collaborative dialog, and one-on-one consultations.

We also have become increasingly aware that in this digital age, people’s stories are slipping away. Email and texting have replaced written correspondence between friends and family members so much so that information that had been preserved in the past on paper is now being lost. Headliners and other “big” stories get preserved in other forms, but the day-to-day lives of firemen, teachers, industrial workers, veterans, emigrants, attorneys and the histories of communities, churches, businesses and ethnic groups get lost in the shuffle. To preserve and present these every-day stories, we are repurposing our former Orientation Area into a Life Stories Center. We want to better facilitate the preservation of everyone’s experiences, memories, and life stories.

While all of this activity is occurring, we hope that you will tolerate the small inconveniences caused by a limited amount of noise and some dust. We are looking forward to the great possibilities that our new spaces will bring. Thank you for your understanding.

There are some new or expanded Allen County items available for use online!

At one time, Bass Foundry was one of Fort Wayne’s largest employers, with more than a thousand employees. Among other product lines, the Foundry made boilers for railroads, businesses and homes. Bass Steel Heating Boilers is a six-page brochure showing photos and descriptions of some of the products available for residential use.

The North Side Yearbook Index is now complete from 1929 to 1024, with more than 187,000 entries and has an updated the search page.

The Genealogy Center, like all facilities of the Allen County Public Library, will be closed on Thursday, November 26th, for Thanksgiving. We will be open our regular hours of 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25th, and reopen on Friday, November 27th, at 9 a.m.

“What makes this kind of research different from other genealogy research is that it is more than simply compiling a list of family names,” said Dr. Steve Carr, director of IPFW’s Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. “Rather, it asks us to think about the hard questions and choices family members had to make under the harshest of circumstances.”

In honor of Veteran's Day, we want to share news of some recent additions to Our Military Heritage from three conflicts, starting with the Civil War pension file of Samuel Rose of the 22nd Iowa, who died in St. James Hospital in New Orleans on September 28, 1863 of chronic diarrhea, leaving a wife and three children. The file includes affidavits on his service, death and needs of the family, including the dates of birth for all three children and the date and place of death for his widow in 1895.

For the Spanish-American War, we have digital of the Official Souvenir of Michigan Volunteers of ’98, published by G.F. Sterling Company in Detroit. The document includes muster rolls for the 31st through 35 regiments of Michigan volunteers and naval reserves, as well as a chronology of events and photographs of companies, groups and individuals. Accompanying the document is an every name and key word index.

Finally, we have the World War II collection of John Perry. Perrey served in the Navy from 1943 to 1946 and recounts his service activities, and includes images of his honorable discharge and other documents, photographs and the souvenir booklet of the Third Graduating Class of the U.S. Naval Radio School (1944).

Ewing Family File, published by The Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding and available through The Genealogy Center, indexes the almost 6500 individuals in the Ewing Family Association & Related Materials that we have had on our site. Using this index, one may search by name, or select an advanced search and locate a person by birth, christening, death or burial dates or places, or by spouse’s name.

And, finally, Brian Paul Kaess has sent corrections to Notes on the Kaess Family, which has been added to what he had already submitted.